Fastening for securing railway rails to metal sleepers



Sept. 18,1951 w. B. WRAGGE 2,558,376

FASTENING FOR SECURING RAILWAY RAILS T0 METALYJSLEEPERS I Filed Feb.- 21, 194R WILLIAM B. WRRGGE I NVENTOR he ofthe, c.1 13 fast n n sshownin Fi land Patented Sept. 18 1951 1 lit v FASTENING FOR SECURING RAILWAY RAILS y r T METAL SLEEPERS William B. Wragge; Stockport, England, assignor to executors of James Mills, Limited, Woodley,

near Stockport; En'gland- ApplicationaFebi-uary 21, 1948, Serial No. 10,015

' r :InGreatBritaln November 13,1946

Section 1-,;l 1 j1 1 1i Law 590, August s, 1946 Patentexpires November 13, 1966 metal sleepers and to such fastenings comprising a substantially U- or c-shaped'clip, one limb'of the clip constituting a hook-like tail adapted to. f be hooked into a hole in the sleeper to engage'its end below the latter, and the other limb consti- "tuting a jaw which lies above the sleeperand between which and the foot or flange of the rail a key is driven to secure the rail on the sleepen.

} It is already known to produce a blank of substantially T-shape from flat strip or sheet steel and by pressing operations fashion or bend the blank to form a clip as aforesaid, the cross member of the blank forming the jaw of the clip and the stem of the blank forming the hook-like tail. It is also known to produce the blank from strip material having a central longitudinal rib or bead in such manner that the-ribor' bead lies on the rear face or back of the blank and ex- This invention has reference to fastenings for H securing flator flange-footed railway rails-to tends centrally across the cross member and along the stem to the end of same. This rib or bead correspondingly increases the thickness, and adds considerably to the strength of thetail of the finished clip. The rib or bead also p ovides a central area of increased thickness in the length of the jaw of the clip which increases the strength or stillness of the jaw. The ribor bead has the disadvantage, however, of increasing the weight, and hence the cost, of the clip; as compared with one fashioned from ablank of flat material. a

The object of this invention is :to provide an improved clip having in the tail, and ifdesired also inthe jaw, the advantage of increased strength comparable with that afforded by the aforesaid rib or bead without the attendant disadvantages of added weight and cost. 1 v1 According to the invention thehook-liketail of a clip of the kind referred to is made .of more or less U, V or other grooved trough or .channel section which section may at the root of the tail merge into the jaw or may extend, partly across the jaw and then merge thereinto or may extend completely across the jaw to the upper 1ongitudinal edge thereof. l The invention is hereinafter further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which T Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a railway rail secured on a metal sleeper by means of one form ..of clip fastenings in accordance with the invention,

1 Fig. 2 is a perspective view toga larger scaleof Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are erspective views of modified forms of clip fastenings according to the invention.

Fig. 7 is'a sectional view, a horizontal section being taken on'line l1 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, a vertical section being taken on line 88 of Fig. l.

On the drawings and in the following description like numerals of reference indicate like parts.

' Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 is the rail 'and' 8 is the sleeper upon which the rail is mounted and secured by means'of clips 9' and 'keys Ill. The clips are of more or less U- or 6- lb shaped profile comprising 1ower and upper limbs H and I2; respectively. The lowerlimb ll of the clip constitutes a hook-like tail which is passed through a hole H! in the sleeper 8 to engage below the part I! thereof adjacent the hole 13. The upper limb I2 of the clip comprises a jaw 12 which lies above the sleeper and in between which and the foot l5 of the rail 1 the key It! is driven,

the key havinga jaw engaging surface 20 shaped to the contour of the jaw 12 and a fiangeengaging surface 2| for engaging the corner of the an foot 15.

I The clip 9 exemplified in Fig. 1 can be readily and cheaply manufactured by first producing a a substantially T-shaped blank of flat material and pressing the blank between appropriate dies to form the clip, shown better in Fig. 2, having the tail, H of grooved or channeled trough section l6 which section extends from the tip of the tail right across the jaw 12' to the upper longitudin'al edge II, thus producing spaced bearing surfaces 22, 23 and 24, 25 at the jaw portion and at the tail portion, respectively. Alternatively, the grooved or trough section may be formed in the blank beforehand by producing the blank from material rolled with a groove or corrugation which in the blank extends centrally acrossthe .cross member and along the stem, and pressing tllie blankin dies to fashion it into the finished c ip.

Fig. 3 illustrates a clip of heavier type than that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and produced by forge or other operations. In this case, as before, the tail I lof the clip is of grooved or trough section and the channel l6 extends across the jaw to the longitudinal edge, I'l.

In the clips shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the inner profile of the groove or trough section I6 is curvilinear but if desired the section may. be flat raided. for, example. it may be of more or .less M- shows a clip of still heavier type, produced by providing in both the head portion and in the tail portion pairs of spaced bearing surfaces at the concave side of the C at which the clip engages the wedg'ing' key and the" undersurface of the forging operations, in which the grooveor trough,

l6 gradually increases in depth and widthifrom the longitudinal edge I! of the jaw I2 to the tip ofthetailll.

The tail ll of the clip maybeunirehn a r in width and/or depth.

Fig. 6 illustrates a clip inwhich thejaw .-l2-

is formed without wings extending from each side T of the groove or channel section I6 such as the sleeper, respectively, the'beari'ng surfaces of each pair lying on opposite sides of the channel thus formed and being spaced by said channel which provides"a nQn bearing central relief area be tween the bearing surfaces of each pair, the

Cj'extending from the head portion to the tail curvature of the clip along the convex side of the 'p ort ion','being continuous, said head portion being "provided'wi'th'wihgs extending laterally beyond clips shown in Figs. 1 to 5 are provlded'witli. In

this case the edges of the walls or sides of the groove or trough section l6 are formed with beads [8 which afford additional strength and constitute the spaced' bearing surfaces 22, 23 and 24, 25.

. In all cases the. bottom of the groove or trough which separates the bearing surfaces'gwill when the clip is fitted in position decline to the-tip of the tail II in orderthat water which may gain access into the section may drip therefrom and not be trapped to set up corrosion, as is shownin Fig. 1.

1' I claim:

l. A clip for securing the flange of a rail to a metal sleeper by means of a wedging-key-interposed between the flange and the clip, the clip having a body substantially C-shaped in profile,

the body comprisingan upperhead portion engaged by the key and a lower tail portion extending through an aperture in the sleeper to engage the underside of'the sleeper, characterized in that at least the tail portion is of channeledcross section, whereby two bearing surfaces are provided at the concave side of the C, spaced longitudinally with respect to the rail, at which the tail portion engages the sleeper, the channeled portion extending to a point above the sleeper, considering the clip in installed position, the convex side of the 0 being of continuous curvature.

2. A clip foruse in'securing the'flan ge" of a rail to a metal sleeper by means of a'we'dging key interposed between the flange and the clip, the clip having a body substantially'C-shaped'in profile, the'body'comprising anu'pper liead por- 'tionengaged by the key and a lower t'ail'portion extending through an aperture in the sleeper'to engage the underside of the sleeper, characterized in that the body is of channeled cross section providing in both'the head portion and in'the tail portion pairs of 'spa'ced'bearing surfaces'at the concave side of the C at which the clip engages the wedging key, arid'the undersurface'of the "sleeper, respectively-,the bearing surfaces of each pair lying onopposite sides of the channel thus formed and being spaced by said channelwhich provides anon-bearing central relief-area-between the bearing surfaces of each pair, the curvature of the clipalong the convex side of'the C, extending from the head portion to the tail portion, being continuous.

3. A clip for--use-in securing the fiangeof a rail to a metal sleeper by means of a wedging key tending through'an'ape'rture in the sleeper to engage the underside of the sleeper, characterized in that the body is of channeled cross section thewidth of'tl'ie tail portion, the surface of said 15 portion.

4. A clip for use in securing flanged rails to metalsleepers, the clip having a body substantially C-shaped in profile, the body comprising a head'portion, anda-tail portion which lies below the head portion the head portion and the ta il portion having bearing surfaces on the concave sideof the C profile, the body further providing a bearing surface intermediate the head and the tail portions for engagement with the edge of an aperture in the sleeper, the latter bearing surface being on the convex side of the C profile, the convex side being of continuous curvatureat, above, and below, said latter bearing surface, at

least the tail portion of the body being of channeled cross-section, the channel being open towards the concave of the C and the concave side of the 0 having flush engagement with the'underside of the sleeper along that part of the tail portion which lies below and in contact with the underside of the sleeper.

5. In a railway rail fastening assembly comprising the combination of a metal sleeper/a. rail, a clip securing the flange of the rail to the sleeper, a wedging key interposed between the flange and the clip, said sleeper having an aperture therein; the clip having a body substantially C-shaped in profile, the body comprising an upper head portion engaged by the key and a lower tail portion which extends through said aperture-in the sleeperand engages the under side of the sleeper, the provision of such clipwhich is characterised in that at least the tail portion is of channeled cross section, whereby two bearing surfaces are provided at the concave side of the C, spaced longitudinally with respect to the rail, at which the-tai1 portion engages the sleeper, the channeled portion extending to a point above the sleeper, the convex side of the C beingof continuous curvature, and the concave side of the 0 having flush engagementwith the underside of the sleeper along the entire length of the tail portion which is below =su'ch under side of the sleeper.

6. In a railway rail fastening assembly comprising the combinationof a metal sleep'er,- a rail, a clip securing the'flange of the rail' to' the sleeper, a'wedging key interposed between the flange and theclip, said sleeper having an aperture therein, the clip having"a"bo'dy substantially 'C-shap'ed in profile, thebody comprising anupper head portion engaged by the key and a lower tail portion which extends through said aperture'in the sleeper and engages the under side of thesle'eper; thehead portion and the tail portionof 'said body havingbearing' surfaces on the concave side of the C profile, the bodyfurther providing a bearing surface 'intermediate the head-and the 'tailportions'which engages with the edge of the aperture in the sleeper, the latter bearing surface being on the convex side of the C profile, the convex side being of continuous curvature at, above, and below, said latter bearing surface, at least the tail portion of the body being of channeled cross-section, the channel being open towards the concave of the C, and the concave side of the 0 having flush engagement 'With the under side of the sleeper along the entire length of the tail portion which is below such under side of the sleeper.

7. A clip for use in securing flanged rails to metal sleepers, the clip having a body substantially c-shaped in profile and of channeled cross section, the channel thus formed being open towards the concave side of the G, the body comprising a head portion and a tail portion which lies below the head portion when the clip is considered in installed position, the head portion and the tail portion each having pairs of bearing surfaces on the concave side of the C profile, the surfaces of each pair lying on opposite sides of, and being spaced by, said channel which provides a non-bearing central relief area between the bearing surfaces of each pair, the body further providing a bearing surface intermediate the head and the tail portions for engagement with an edge of an aperture in the sleeper, the latter bearing surface being on the convex side of the C profile, the convex side being of continuous curvature at, above, and below said latter bearing surface, considering the clip in installed position.

8. A clip for use insecuring flanged rails to metal sleepers, the clip having a body substantially C-shaped in profile and of channeled cross section, the channel thus formed being open toward the concave side of the c, the body comprising a head portion and a tail portion which lies below the head portion when the clip is considered in installed position, the head portion and the tail portion each having pairs of bearing surfaces on the concave side of the C profile, the surfaces of each pair lying on opposite sides of, and being spaced by, said channel which provides a non-bearing central relief area between the bearing surfaces of each pair, the body further providing a bearing surface intermediate the head and the tail portions for engagement with an edge of an aperture in the sleeper, the latter bearing surface being on the convex side of the C profile, the convex side being of continuous curvature at, above, and. below said latter bearing surface, considering the clip in installed position, the head portion being provided with wings extending laterally beyond the width of the tail portion, the surface of said wings facing the concave side of the 0 being continuous with the bearing surfaces of the head portion.

WILLIAM B. WRAGGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,303,238 Berkeley May 13, 1919 1,712,384 Germay May '7, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 537,117 Germany Oct. 29, 1931 415,375 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1934 426,047 Great Britain Mar. 21, 1935 

